Transportation: Uber Freight Coming Early This Year

Not content to stop with revolutionizing the way people get from one point to another, Uber has now set its sights on connecting shippers with trucks in the form of the new Uber Freight service.

While the company has not made a secret of its interest in self-driving trucks, it also wants to create a marketplace where these trucks can thrive. The service is expected to be officially launched early this year, and a few carriers and shippers have already been trying it out quietly since October. Not much has been said about it by the company so far. Its website does not contain very much information, and Uber has not offered much in the way of confirmation. However, it is worth noting that Uber Freight Product Lead Eric Berdinis told Business Insider last October that Uber would be stepping into the realm of trucks even before getting into self-driving trucks.

Transportation for Everyone

Last month, Uber Enterprise Global Head Travis Bogard said that the company’s goal was to “bring reliable transportation to everyone, everywhere.” He said that would entail building the technology to power a broad range of transport solutions for companies and their goods, customers and employees. Not only was freight specifically mentioned, but he also singled out business travel, food delivery, patient and caregiver transportation, and getting people to company events. He said that Uber’s goal is to find the most efficient ways to do this and save customers money in the process.

Amazon currently has a similar project in the works. According to a leak from an anonymous source with the company, its own version of Uber Freight could be released sometime this summer.

One thing is for certain: it will be interesting to see if these companies will be a match for the big logistics companies in the long run.